In the early 2000s, Hot or Not was a popular web site that allowed users to rate the attractiveness of women and men in photos that were voluntarily submitted by others. Hot or Not was a significant influence on the people who went on to create the social media sites Facebook and YouTube.

As any collector of 'found' or vernacular photographs will tell you, sooner or later you'll realize that there isn't a lot you can do with hundreds of dusty portraits of people whom have all been dead for a hundred years.